This invention relates to golf clubs and more particularly golf club heads. Interest among golfers in custom-tailoring their golf equipment has increased over the years. Also, golfers have increasingly demanded golf club heads that include advanced materials, high forgiveness, and generally better performance. However, these desires, i.e. providing easily customizable club heads and high performing club heads, are often incompatible from a design standpoint.
As an example, hollow-type iron club heads have recently become popular for golfers interested in game improvement. Because of their large volume, a significant proportion of the mass of such club heads is located outward from their respective centers of gravity. This increases movement of inertia and, thus, provides for a more forgiving club head on off-centered golf shots. To achieve these characteristics, given a predetermined mass budget, hollow-type iron golf club heads generally include thin-walled construction and comprise different materials throughout the club head body to selectively optimize material properties at various locations. However, as a result of their enlarged shape and thin-walled construction, such golf club heads are ill-suited for use with conventional golf club head customization devices (e.g. the STEELCLUB® Signature Angle Machine by the Mitchell Golf Equipment Company of Dayton, Ohio). As a result, attempts at modifying properties of hollow-type iron golf club heads (e.g. loft angle and lie angle) tend to result in damage to the club head that impairs structural integrity and performance.